Priftakis ready to go to work

“I like to talk with the people of the riding, sit with them and listen to what they have to say,” he said. “I’m ready to talk for them in the parliament.”

Priftakis said that Quebec needs a new vision for the future. He believes the plan the ADQ has is the right one. “The PQ is finished,” he said. “It’s clear that we don’t want separation. Quebec is stronger within Canada.”

What Priftakis believes will be good for Quebec is the retention of its younger generations. “I’m still a young guy,” he said. “It’s my generation, our generation, that will be paying for everything. Pensions, healthcare, that is our responsibility. We need to change a lot of things.”

Two issues that need to be addressed are healthcare and school, he said. Priftakis says the extra layer of bureaucracy included in both the regional health councils and school boards are inefficient and ineffective bodies that only siphon off public funds. “Why can’t we just give money directly to the hospitals?” he asked. “Why does it have to go somewhere else first before the money gets to where it needed?”

Part of the problem, according to the ADQ candidate, is a patriarchal mentality that exists in Quebec politics. “It seems there is this idea that we give your money to the government and they will fix it.”

Local solutions are the answer, Priftakis said. “We are not incapable of managing our own money.”

The notion of keeping solutions local applies to business decisions as well. Priftakis used an example from his own experience to illustrate what he meant. “I used to own a restaurant in St-Cesaire,” he said. “We were very close to pork farms. But the pork I bought didn’t come from them. I was buying from, I think, Wisconsin. Something’s not working there. It’s not right that we can’t go to a local supplier and buy from them.”

Priftakis wants to stop the flow of young people leaving Quebec for Western Canada, where economic opportunities are abundant. “In the 1990s, you didn’t see that, never heard of people leaving for Alberta,” he said. “These are our taxpayers leaving.”

A reduction in taxes is one thing that could keep people in the province. “In Ontario, companies are able to keep 15 to 20 per cent more, since they aren’t taxed as much.”

Priftakis knows running in Westmount—Saint-Louis will be a bit of a challenge, but he has faith the ADQ’s ideas will resound with voters. “Read the platforms and see which one will benefit you most,” he said. “In the end, the people will decide. I hope it goes for the best.”